A World of Waste: Rethinking Solid Waste Management from A Global Lens

Abstract

Solid Waste comprises plastic bags, glass bottles, packing materials, discarded shoes, tins, lead, batteries, etc. It is dumped in seas and oceans, which are consumed by marine animals, thinking it is a food item for them. The rejected resources generated from commercial establishments, household sectors, industrial sectors, mining and agricultural sectors, etc., can be referred to as solid waste. As per the World Bank Report, waste originated from the household sector, commercial sector, business establishments, institutions, etc, may be defined as municipal solid waste, which differs from one jurisdiction to another.

There are international institutions, laws, and organizations that are assessing the world environment and its impact on the human community. Some of them are the Ramsar Convention 1971, the 1972 Conference of Stockholm, the 1972 Convention to Protect World Culture and Natural Heritage, the Vienna Convention for the Ozone Layer (1985), the Protocol which was held in Montreal, Canada (1987), etc. In this paper, an effort has been made to study the principles governing the international environmental laws, which are mainly concerned with the control and management of solid waste.